StirlingRMartin

Is the potential for a constitutional crisis closer than it has been in years? One could be looming behind the potential for a third presidential term for Donald Trump? 

Political activist Steve Bannon has been saying for a while now that come January 20th, 2028, President Donald Trump will be President again. The manner in which this would be accomplished is the question and whether or not that poses a constitutional crisis. 

Why is this coming into question now beyond the Steve Bannon’s quotes? Well just this week the Trump Store, which is the official retail store for the Trump organization and MAGA paraphernalia, released hats and shirts that say 2028, the hats retailing for $50. Now obviously this isn’t a declaration of running for a third term, but the fact that it is listed seems to be a message in itself coupled with the messages that have been pushed out by far right activists. 

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a conversation was questioned about the hats. She reported that the hats are “flying off the shelves” but dismissed the consideration of a third term, saying “it is just a hat” and nothing more. 

The existence of this alludes to the potential for the groundwork to be laid for a third presidential term, but the question is how. 

The problem standing in his was is the 22nd amendment. 

The 22nd amendment was submitted in 1947 and then finally ratified in 1951 after a 4 year process. 

The main line that stands out in the 22nd amendment is “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice” you can see the rest of the 22nd amendment here. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-22/

The history of the 22nd amendment is due to Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was initially elected in 1932 taking office in 1933. The United States at the time was reeling from the Great Depression  and Roosevelt was then reelected for a second term in 1936 after ushering in the “New Deal” as an attempt to kickstart the American economy again and pull the country out from the quagmire of uncertainty and stagnation that it was in. 

At the end of his second term Roosevelt was elected again as the world was fighting the growing Fascist power in Germany, with the beginning of World War II in 1939 following the invasion of Poland. Facing pressure from Europe and eventually the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States was pulled into the War. 

The American public finding themselves fighting a ferocious war, Roosevelt was elected for a fourth term in 1944 ensuring a continuance of leadership and policy fighting the Axis threat. Roosevelt’s health however had been in decline since 1940 due to life long habits. On April 12 of 1945 Roosevelt passed away ending a 12 year presidency. The 22nd amendment would then be proposed as I said before in 1947 and adopted in 1951. The standard enshrined in the constitution would be modeled after George Washington, who decided to step down after two terms as President. Since then it has been widely accepted that two terms is the limit. 

Now the amazing thing about the United States and its Constitution is that it is flexible. Amendments in their nature are able to change our frame of government. Those amendment require a lengthy process and require an overwhelming majority of support from the states, three quarters to be exact, which at this time means 38 states and legislatures would need to ratify an amendment. 

That kind of policy is something that the American Public would not support in the current political climate. The United States is extremely polarized and a majority of states lean one way or the other, with only a handful of states that categorize as swing states, so the reality for now with the current set up for the legislatures means that an amendment to change the term limits is unrealistic. 

The next potential course of action would be looking at the specific wording in the Constitution.  The amendment says that that the President “cannot be elected” for more than two terms. Some believe that there is potential for Trump to run as a running mate for JD Vance, and for him to then step aside once elected allowing for Trump to remain in power. If Trump is allowed to run as a Vice Presidential Candidate is still legally questionable. 

The final potential would be for Trump to run and disregard the constitution. At the time of this video there are significant tensions between the current administration and the Judiciary as the Administration has ignored Federal Judge rulings mainly due to issues surrounding immigration policies. Nobody has seen what would happen if there was a blatant disregard to this kind of ruling, and the question still remains on how the Supreme Court might interpret the constitution in this kind of situation and if the terms being nonconsecutive lend any leeway to the President’s potential cause. Now all of this said I am not a lawyer in any type of way so none of this should be treated as constitutional law advise. 

This is of course a hypothetical and maybe it is just a hat, but there has been a trend of messages in this Administrations rhetoric or actions coming to fruition, and if so this could trigger a constitutional crisis, the likes of which haven’t been seen in many years. 

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